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SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) A July-August ramp up of production runs counter to many of the earlier rumors that had suggested the iPad launch as early as April.  While Apple's traditional timeframe for iPad launches has been in the first few months of the year, last year saw two iPad launches -- one in March, and one in November. The late 2012 release of the 4th Generation iPad may have altered that usual timetable.  The new iPad is believed to…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) The Galaxy Note 3 is rumored to be the first handset in Samsung’s lineup to include the S Orb panorama camera feature when it launches later this year. Android Geeks, the publication that provided details about the S Orb feature in the post, says that a software engineer “confirmed” the Galaxy Note 3 will be “the company’s first terminal to come with S Orb out of the box.” The same engineer said a few months…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) Microsoft had originally been planning to unveil its next-generation Xbox details at anevent in April, but The Verge has learned that the company has pushed this back to May. Windows watcher Paul Thurrott revealed recently that Microsoft is planning an Xbox event for May 21st, and we understand this date is accurate. This is the tentative date for a next-generation Xbox announcement, but Microsoft had originally planned an April 24th event. ALWAYS-ON DRAMA Sources familiar with Microsoft's…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) Facebook has started charging UK users up to £11 to send messages to celebrities and other people outside their circle of friends. It has just launched a test scheme in the UK with fees ranging from as much as £10.68 to contact a celebrity such as Olympic swimmer Tom Daley. It costs a standard 71p to contact less well-known figures, such as BBC's Robert Peston or Prince Harry's girlfriend Cressida Bonas, who do not have…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) Google's futuristic Glass headgear will be available before year's end. The device may well be the final step before human-machine interaction moves under our skin — but its wearers may trigger some undesired social reactions from friends and family members, and it may not go over too well atyour local watering hole, either. In fact, judging from our early look, Google Glass won't be welcome in lots of places. Google Glass consists of a small display…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) A weekend cyberattack campaign has targeted Israeli government websites but failed to cause serious disruption, officials say. Yitzhak Ben Yisrael, of the government's National Cyber Bureau, said on Sunday that hackers had mostly failed to shut down key sites. "So far it is as was expected, there is hardly any real damage," Ben Yisrael said. "Anonymous doesn't have the skills to damage the country's vital infrastructure. And if that was its intention, then it wouldn't…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) In the everlasting patent war between Samsung and Apple, the US-based manufacturer seems to have recently obtained a very important victory. Judge Thomas Pender from the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) has ruled that Samsung devices infringe on a text selection patent owned by Apple, a feature that’s available on iPhones and iPads. Another Apple claim, one that sought injunction for Samsung’s use of a patented technology for detecting microphones when they are inserted…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) -Google and Apple are the two companies that provide the dominant operating systems in the mobile industry. Microsoft and BlackBerry (formerly RIM) are struggling to regain some relevance, while companies new to the game, such as Amazon, Ubuntu, and Mozilla are also aiming to take a bite of this ever growing pie. In this context, we look at the benefits and drawbacks that a third strong mobile platform would bring to the average Android user.…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) -- Apple’s trajectory in the U.S. smartphone market over the past little while has been an upwards one, with the company gaining more and more iPhone subscribers every month. During the three-month period covering November 2012 to February 2013, Apple added 8.9 million new iPhone subscribersaccording to comScore, while Android as a platform in total added only 2.9 million. That means Apple’s share of the total smartphone subscriber base in the U.S. grew to 38.9 percent…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) -- Many folks bring themselves and their homes out of the winter doldrums with a frenzy of spring cleaning and organizing. One area of your house you might neglect, however, is your computer. Fortunately, cleaning and de-cluttering your PC is easy to do and doesn't take much time. It'll prolong the life of your machine and help you get more work done faster. That means you can spend more time outside, enjoying the longer, warmer days!…